Loop-making apparatus and method



May 9, 1967` P. E. NIMMO, JR

LOOP-*MAKING APPARATUS AND METHOD 5 Sheets-Sheet l Filed Sept. 27, 1962 mmm@ ZM, 52M, fw

ATTORNEYS I l l Il May 9, 1967 P. E. NiMMo, JR

MAKING APPARATUS AND METHOD LOOP- 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 27, 1962 w www km. 14111 :N P

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May 9, 1967 P. E. NIMMO, JR

MAKING APPARATUS AND METHOD LOOP- 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Sept. 27, 1962 Wm ffm, a? M ATTORNEYS 4/l/rr-Ill fill.

7 1 @MU mm. um Smwlc. SI E A mm MM May 9, 1967 P. E. NIMMO, JR

MAKING APPARATUS AND METHOD LOOP- 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Sept. 27, 1962 INVENTOR ...I .nl

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llfdll. ril/l ATTORNEYS May 9, 1967 P. E. NIMMO, JR

LOOP-MAKING APPARATUS AND METHOD 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Sept. 27. 1962 INVENTOR BY /Mmsmm ATTORNEYS United States Patent Office 3,3l3,497 Patented May 9, 1967 3,318,497 LOOP-MAKING APPARATUS AND METHOD Philip E. Nimmo, Jr., Clifton, NJ., assignor to S'un v Chemical Corporation, New York, N .Y., a corporation of Delaware Filed Sept. 27, 1962, Ser. No. 226,574 19 Claims. (Cl. 223-46) The present invention relates generally to the art of looping and in particular to the manufacture of ornamental bows of various types, as well as spaced-apart loops fixed to display cards for packaging purposes.

With the ever-increasing cost of labor, it is desirable to automate the production of decorative adjuncts, which ordinarily require costly artistic skill to produce. This makes available a supply of bows at reasonable cost to professional wrappers, as well as to the expanding do it yourself market.

The present invention improves over the prior art in the provision of a fully automatic machine and method for producing from a ribbon and backing strip supply a `completed loop or bow or series of loops or bows without manual supervision or human intervention.

From a single machine, in accordance with this invention, a number of different type configurations may be produced, including the tailored bow, rondo loop, the pompon and Corsage style bows and other miscellaneous type bows which are formed from loops. The principles of the invention permit application of the machine to form large bows or small bows, oval shaped bows and even circular bows when the so-called tailored bow is closed upon itself. The same apparatus is useful in producing spaced-apart packaging loops, which may constitute only partial loops, to provide packaging fasteners or retainers for commercial goods, such as tooth brushes, tooth paste and the like.

In following the method of the invention, a decorative ribbon, preferably of a flat, flexible strip form is caused to be looped upon and secured to a backing strip of somewhat stiffer material, such as cardbooard or the like. The ribbon and backing strip are advanced together through a fastening station, at which point the ribbon is gripped or arrested in movement and the backing strip backed loff to loop the ribbon upon itself. This loop is then secured to the backing strip, as by a fastening element, and the looping step repeated, except that the succeeding anchor position is displaced relative to the initial anchor position by, e.g., M32 -of an inch, to preclude pile-up of fastening elements and to permit the fabrication of sequential loops. This process is repeated up to a dozen or more times to produce a series of loops affixed to one area or length of the backing strip, thereby forming a single bow.

In the automatic bow-forming sequence the next looping step is omitted leaving a void and another bow formed in the manner of the first, such that the product emerging from the machine may comprise a plurality of spacedapart bows aflixed to `a common backing strip. Any number of such bows may be automatically severed for packing or, in fact, severing may occur between individual bows, if such is the desired packing approach.

The process for producing the foregoing described basic or tailored bow is readily alterable to provide the rondo or packaging arrangement. It is necessary to provide fastening means at spaced apart positions in pairs for each loop in order that the mouth or opening of the loop may be adjusted or widened to permit disposition of the pr-oduct along the strip or backing card and to permit some resiliency in the gripping force applied by the loop to the product to be retained. This is achieved by a fastening operation in the cycle immediately prior to and following looping. Also the strip is advanced the desired length lby a forward stroke, then it is retracted by a shorter effective stroke, thereby spacing the anchoring positions and partially opening the loops. Also, one or more looping steps is `omitted between the forming of the rondo loops, thereby advancing the strip and ribbon between loops in order to space the products to be packaged for display.

A further species of highly ornamental bow includes those that are formed from ribbon that it notched in the Vicinity of the individual loop anchor points to provide a random-like loop distribution in any given bow. The pompon and Corsage type bows are typical examples in which the step of notching is performed prior to the step of securing the ribbon to the backing strip to permit thi loops to fall in haphazard manner. To facilitate this loop deployment, a wire brush or the like may be used t-o fluff or disperse the individual loops as they are anchored to the backing strip.

Several embodiments of apparatus capable of perform- -iug the foregoing sequences are illustrated in the drawing and essentially comprise means for imparting reciprocating and incremental advancing motion to the backing strip relative to stitching or fastening means for securing the ribbon to the backing strip in loops; also a cut-off or bow-severing means may be employed when desired `as is the case with a notohing die or means for forming special bows.

With the foregoing in mind, it is an object of this invention to provide an apparatus and method for forming, fastening, and severing ornamental bows.

Another object is the provision of a versatile method and machine for producing ornamental bows of varied designs and sizes.

A further object is a provision of `apparatus and method for forming packaging arrangements;

A still further object is the provision of novel automatic incremental advancing means based upon a principle of reciprocatory motion;

These and other objects and advantages of this invention will become further apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of certain embodiments thereof when taken in light of the accompanying drawing in which:

All of the related figures identified as FIG. la through FIG. lz and FIG. lz are provided to show the yste-p by step sequencing of apparatus for forming, e.g., a series of tailored bows, the operation beginning with the machine loaded and progressing through the formation of loops into a bow and then the formation of two bows and nally the severing operation.

FIG. la is-a detail view of the fastening station;

FIGS. lb and lc' show a typical tailored bow as viewed from the bottom and top respectively;

FIG. 2, including the related showings of FIG. 2a through FIG. 2m, shows the invention applied to the formation of rondo-type loops for packaging arrangements, the sequence beginning with the formation of a single `loop and continuing through the formation of two such loops in spaced-apart array showing the relativel positioning of the apparatus for achieving this objective;

` the slot 41 (FIG. la).

aereas? FIGS. 2n, 2o and 2p show a perspective view of a series of the rondo loops, as viewed from the top and bottom along with a suitable cross sectional view of one loop in detail;

FIG. 3 shows a similar embodiment of the invention, as in FIGS. la etc. and 2, but arranged particularly for forming pompon and the like bows;

FIGS. 3a, 3b, 3c and 3d show in perspective various views of the material as it is formed into a pompon type bow;

FIG. 4 is a view, partly in side elevation and partly in section, of a suitable gripper mechanism for imparting drive and particularly incremental advancement to the backing strip but permitting loop formation of the ribbon; Y FIG. 4a shows an alternative arrangement to that of FIG. 4.

FIG. 5 is a view primarily in end elevation of a portion of the structure of FIG. 4, but taken along the plane 5 5 thereof;

FIG. 6 is a similar view to FIG. 5 showing other structure thereof as taken along the plane 6 6 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is a view in elevation of a further portion of the structure of FIG. 4 taken at the plane 7 7;

FIG. 8 is a view of the structure of FIG. 4 in its extreme left-hand position;

FIG. 9 is a view similar to FIG. 8 but showing the gripping mechanism displaced to the left, as occurs between bows;

FIG. 10 is a partial view in end elevation of certain structure of FIG. 9I taken along the plane 9 9.

FIG. ll is a view in plan of the Vstructure of FIG. 4;

FIG. l2 is a fragmentary view showing7 the backing strip being guided along a portion of its pathway; and

FIG. 13 is a schematic arrangement, in side elevation, of a tailored bow for use in connection with the description of the figures appearing on the same sheet.

Referring now to the drawings and first to FIGS. la-lz', an arrangement for producing the tailored bow of FIGS. 1b' and lc' is shown, as viewed partly in side elevation and partly in cross-section. A backing strip 21, in the form of a continuous cardboard or other semirigid strip is shown extending lthe length of the view along a pathway to be described. A source of supply for the strip is provided to the left of the view but is not shown. The ribbon 23 is supplied from a source (not shown) near the center top of the figure and enters over `a longitudinally-movable guide roller 25 and is guided through a ribbon-notching station generally depicted at 27 bu not used in the making of a tailored bow. The ribbon depends from the notching station 27 to a fastening or stitching station such as the stapler 29, at which it initially meets the backing strip 21.

I The pathway vof the backing strip is first via a reciprocating table station 31 at the right end of which is located a hitch feeding mechanism 33 and thence along a guideway past the notching station 27, out of functional engagement with the same, to the stapling station 29 where the ribbon is joined to it. A bow-forming area or platform 3S is provided for the backing strip and the loop being gathered to form the bows and may be separated from an exit or packaging platform 37 by a cutting station 39 (FIG. lz) generally effective to sever bows at It might be mentioned that the cutting station may function between successive bows or between a series of a dozen or more bows.

Very generally, the reciprocating table station 31 is provided to establish forward (to the right in FIG. la) and backward motion of the strip 21. This is achieved through the use of a Xed air cylinder 51 and piston arm 53, the latter of which is secured to the reciprocating table 22 by the rigid upright 55.

The continuous strip 21 is caused to move with the reciprocating table 31 through the hitch feeding mechanism 33 which comprises a right-hand gripper or pawl 57 and a left-hand gripper or pawl 59. The hitch feed- 4 L ing mechanism 33 establishes the incremental advancing of the continuous backing strip 21 relative tothe fastening station 29 such that the fastening elements (staples) do not pile up but rather assume incrementally spacedapart positions along the length of the continuous strip to anchor successive loops of a bow. While the details of the hitch feeding mechanism `are shown in FIGS. 4

through 12, it is first necessary to appreciate how the Y loops of the ribbon 27 are formed in order fully to comprehend the function of the pawls 57 and 59.

Accordingly, FIG. la is included to show the conditions of the apparatus at, for example, the beginning of the day or run to reveal the presence of a fastener or staple 61 provided to secure the ribbon 23 to the backing strip 21 beyond the fastening station 29 to permit driveV of the ribbon through the backing strip.

FIG. lb shows the apparatus at the conclusion of a forward (the first) or right-hand stroke of the piston arm 53. It may be seen that the right-hand gripper or pawl S7 is in its lower or strip-engaging position and has forced the strip to the right, as is shown by the new lposition of the staple 61. Obviously, the amount of advancement or piston stroke may be adjustable to form different size bows.

In the average size bow a stroke of approxirnately 4 inches is used to form loops 2 inches in length. The incremental spacing between fasteners 61 is determined by the relative use of the pawls or grippers 57 and 59. In the usual process the gripper 57 becomes effective almost simultaneously with the beginning of the forward stroke of piston arm 53 but the gripper 59 is delayed in becoming eifective after the beginning of the reverse stroke such that the strip is effectively incrementally advanced lfor each piston stroke. The magnitude of this increment is of the order of 1/32 to lAG which is sufficient to space the staples such as shown at 61 and preclude pile-up. Naturally this spacing between fasteners is sufficient to accommodate two layers of ribbon even of the thick or plush type.

FIG. lc shows the assembly at the completion of the rearward or left-hand stroke. The continuous strip 21 is drawn to the :left by the piston arm 53, but the fastening station 29 applies suicient drag to the ribbon asrto cause it to loop. A second fastener or staple 63 fixes the ribbon to the card or strip 21 at the end of this stroke. From this figure it can also be seen that the gripper 59 is cofntrolling in movement of the continuous strip to the le t.

FIG. 1d shows the apparatus in the condition of FIG. 1b except that this time a second loop is ibeing formed, as is visible in FIG. lc. The process is again repeated in FIG. 1f to form a third loop as completed in FIG. 1g. FIG. lh shows the three loops of a bow being formed in `a right-hand position with the apparatus ready to form the fourth lloop as is shown in FIG. l. FIGS. 1j and 1k show the formation of a fifth loop. FIGS. 1I, 1m and 1n show the completion of a bow comprising ve loops and the preparation of the apparatus for the formation of a succeeding bow.

In FIGS. 1l and lm, the ve loops are advanced to their right-hand position, but in FIG. 1n the bow 65 is shown displaced to the right by a second stroke length, preparatory to `forming the rst loop 66 of a succeeding bow. In other words, one loop length of ribbon is laid gainst the'card strip 21 in the separation of succeeding ows.

In FIG. 1m it is seen that a staple 67 couples the ribbon to the backing strip at the beginning of the second bow. One manner of avoiding the loop formation step between bows (for spacing), such as between bow 65 and staple 67, is to render the hitch feeding mechanism inoperative for one reverse stroke of the air cylinder 51. This, Of course, may take place at the end of any desired number of loop formations depending upon the length of bow being formed. By providing'means to render the hitch feeding station 33 inoperative, the air cylinder 51 may simply comprise a continuously operating stroking device of a commercial type readily obtainable on the open market.

The details of the hitch feeding structure and controls for rendering it inoperative between bows lwill now be explained in connection with the showing of FIGS. 4 through 12.

In FIG. 4 the reciprocating table 22 is shown in its eX- treme right-hand or strip advance position, preparatory to beginning a backward or left-hand stroke. The dog 57 is down in contact with the cardboard strip 21, having driven it to the right. This dog is pivotally mounted on the pin 71, extending outwardly from supporting block 72 and is capable of swinging through a small arc, limit screw 73 being provided to adjust its maximum counterlclockwise movement.

A slender, fairly stiff actuating rod 75 is secured to the dog 57 to move it between its operative and inoperative positions during normal operation (i.e. except when bow-spacing is provided). The supporting block 72 and dog 57, lalong with the supporting structure for dog 59, are moveable with the reciprocating table 22 because of the rigid coupling afforded by bottom mounting screws 77 and 78.

On the other hand, the standard or frame 81 for the actuating rod 75 is normally fixed to the machine frame, represented by the partial wall S3, through the horizontal bar S5 detachably secured to the cantilever bar S7 (FIG. 1l) extending outwardly of the fixed frame or wall 83. An electromagnet S9 is provided with a catch (not shown) which latches the bar 85 to the bar 87 except when the electromagnet is energized over its leads 91.

The function of the standard 81 is to apply sufficient drag to movement of actuating rod 75 as to operate the dog 57 to either of its two positions. This is achieved through the use of a slideable-friction arrangement, including the ball 93 of a typical ball-bearing type, biased against the rod 75 by a spring 95 under control of the tensioning screw 97. Once tensioning screw 97 is properly set, the rod 75 slides back and forth through its hole 99 (FIGS. 6 and 7) in the fixed frame 81 to cause the dog 57 to be pulled down (clockwise) into its operative posi tion when the reciprocating table 22 is moved to the right, thereby advancing strip 21 (as is shown at the completion of the forward stroke of FIG. 4) and to its inoperative position on the return stroke by causing dog 57 to rotate in a counterclockwise direction, as is shown in FIG. 8.

In a similar manner, the dog 59 is controlled by its actuating rod 161 and other similar structure to cause the backing strip 21 to move to the left or rearward. It is the differential between the effectiveness of these two dogs that determines the incremental advance of the strip 21. This differential is adjustable in two ways, namely, by the length of dog 59 relative to the length of dog 57 and the position of the limit screw 103 for dog 59. If the length of dog 59 is shorter than dog 57, its operative position will more nearly approach the vertical and, consequently, a greater time lag will take place for it to be rotated from its upper to its operative position starting from the initiation of the rearward stroke. Thus the backing strip 21 is not pushed to the left by dog 59 as far Ias it is pushed to the right by dog 57. Similarly, by loosening limit screw 103, the dog 59 will be caused to pivot upwardly to a higher position, thereby also shortening the rearward stroke.

The foregoing description explains the operation during the formation of a sequence of loops. It will now be explained how the hitch feeding mechanism 33 is rendered inoperative between bows to space them one or more 'loop lengths apart. The number of loops per bow is adjustable, simply by the expedient of rendering the hitch feeding mechanism inoperative following the formation of the number of loops desired. Usually this is a dozen or more,

but in the illustration, for the sake of simplication, bows having only five loops are shown.

Hence in the mechanism of FIGS. 4 through 12 the hitch feeding arrangement is rendered inoperative following the formation of the five loops of the bows of the FIGS. la-lz' showing Whereas FIG. 13 shows a itl-loop bow 100.

Considering now a 5-loop bow, normal operation obtains for the initial forward stroke of the card 21 following formation of the fifth loop, just as if a sixth loop were to be formed. However, on the reverse or rearward stroke the gripper 59 is rendered ineffectual to drive the strip 21 to the left (see FIG. 9) with the reciprocating table 22 and the strip slips relative thereto. At the beginning of this rearward stroke, the solenoid 89 is energized over its leads 91 to release the catch (not shown) between bar 87 and slide 85. This permits the otherwise fixed frame 81 to travel to the left along with the gripper structure and the table 22 by virtue of the slide bar 85 which is positively gripped during the bow-spacing rearward stroke through a second solenoid 1l5 (FIG. ll), actuated over its leads 107 simultaneously with actuation of solenoid 89. Thus, the otherwise fixed frame 81 is carried to the left with the table 22 and the spacing between frame 81 and the dogs 59 and 57 is maintained such that dog 59 is not moved to its operative position and therefore the strip 21 remains on its right-hand or forward position as is shown in FIG. lm. However, note that a staple 67 fastens the ribbon 23 to the backing strip 21 as usual.

In other words, .both the fastening operation and the reciprocating operation can be continuous cyclical operations in this embodiment of the machine and a minimum of control is required to establish bow spacing. Since the operation of the machine is under the control of air cylinders, the latter may be in turn controlled by solenoids operated by a counter or timer mechanism of conventional design. One suitable mechanism is the Eagle Microex reset counter, Series HZ, available from Eagle Signal Division of E. W. Bliss Company, 732 Federal Street, Davenport, Iowa. This is a type of pulse counter capable of counting from zero to 400 and resetting after any predetermined number of counts as set forth herein, infra. If one pulse is allowed per each stroke, bow spacing is readily effected by setting the reset counter to the desired number of loops at which time it automatically operates a set of contacts to render inoperative the solenoids such as 89 and 105 of FIGS. 4 etc. or 1=10 and 112 of FIG. 4a. The same counter illustrated at 108 in FIGS. 4a and ll may also .be employed to actuate the cutting mechanism or cutting station 39 in the same manner. Similarly, the notching station 27 and stapling station 29 may be simultaneously actuated following each loop forming operation. Also, notching is achieved, for example, two spaced intervals ahead of stapling, but the respective air cylinders may be operated together. Again, by a simple solenoid connection to the pulse counter, it energizes the respective air cylinders on each count. The staple 67 forms the initial staple for the rst loop 66 of the succeeding bow as seen in FIG. 1o. In FIGS. 4 and 8 an auxiliary spring 88 is provided to insure that dog 57 will be operative on the succeeding forward stroke even though the standard 81 is being returned to its normal position for locking by solenoid 89 onto bar 85.

In FIG. 4a there is disclosed an alternative arrangement for the structure of FIG. 4 which permits bow spacing. A pair of solenoids 110 and 112 are provided to move, respectively, actuating rods 1011 and to their extreme positions at the appropriate times during the loop skipping interval. If a 5-loop bow is assumed, then the dogs 57 and 59 are each thus moved to their inoperative positions during the return stroke following the formation of the fifth loop. Standard S1 remains fixed at all times relative to table 22 and solenoid 110 simply draws rod 101 to the left with dog 59 striking limit screw 103 and solenoid 112 pushes rod 75 to the right until dog 57 strikes limit screw 73. At the end of this return stroke the solenoids are de-energized and normal cyclic operation is resumed, table 22 being in its lefthand position with dog 57 dropping to its operative Y position as the dog supporting structure is moved away from standard 81.

FIGS. lo through lx show the formation of the second bow |121 in sequence following the formation of the rst bow 65. This operation is identical to that previously described.

FIG. ly shows the condition of the apparatus during the spacing step, following the completion of formation of bow 121 and the location of a staple 123 for the next succeeding bow.

FIG. lz exhibits the operation of the cutting station 39 to sever bow 65 from the continuous strip 21. The cutting station 39 is preferably of the well-known guillotine-type cutter in which the blade is carried between end posts and is driven downwardly by an air cylinder to cut the ribbon against a fixed blade through a shearing motion. A spreader 125, shown schematically in FIG. lz, simply prevents the bows 65 and 121 themselves from being cut when the cutter 127 is caused to reciprocate through the slot 129, thereby severing bow 65 from backing strip 21, as seen in FIG. lz. The proper time in the cycle for severing to occur is, of course, during an interval of arrested movement. The strip 21 is arrested in its movement at the end of the forward and at the end of the rearward stroke because the dogs 57 and 59 are neither instantly effective. Of course the rear gripper or dog 59 provides a longer dwell time at the beginning of the rearward stroke because of the incremental spacing. Thus, an opportune time for severing is during this dwell period and the machine is so cycled.

The details of the stapling operation are shown in FIG. la' where the ribbon 23 is joined to the bac-king strip 21 by a staple 135, driven into an anvil 137 by a plunger 139 in conventional fashion.

A typical tailored bow 141 is shown in plan in FIG. lc as having eleven loops. The bottom of this bow is shown in FIG. lb' where the twelve fasteners or staples are apparent, showing that each bow has one more fastener than loops.

The series of figures appearing as FIG. 2, including FIGS. 2a through 2m, show the formation of rondo or packaging loops, as illustrated in FIGS. 2n, 20 and 2p. The principal difference in the manufacture of packaging arrangements over bows is the fact that a spacing is established 'between successive loops rather than between bunches of loops. Also, frequently it is desirable to leave the loops partly open where they join the base strip in order to conserve looping material and provide larger loops.

In FIG. 2n, a series of loops 151, 153 and 157 are afxed to a backing strip 159 in spaced-apart relation. FIGS. and 2p show the staples 161 fastening the loops to the backing strip 159 in pairs per loop. This, of course, is analogous to the use of a staple prior to the initiation of a bow and following the formation of the last loop of the same bow and is readily handled by the subject apparatus.

Considering now FIG. 2, the backing strip 159 is again driven by a reciprocating table 165 powered by the air cylinder 167.V The same type hitch feeding arrangement 169 is used to provide reciprocatory motion with incremental advancing of thestrip 159. A notching station 171, which is idle in this embodiment, is shown as simply guiding the ribbon 173 to the fastening station 17 5.' Initially, a fastener or staple 177 is provided to join the ribbon 173 to the backing strip 159.

The machine in its forward stroke is shown in FIGS. 2a and 2b. The rear gripper 179 (corresponding to gripper 59 of FIG. 4) is delayed substantially in its effectiveness duringrthe rearward stroke in FIG. 2C in order to establish the gap between the staples 177 and 131 (FIG. 2d).

This is occasioned in the same manner heretofore explained, namely, by shortening theA rear gripper 179 relative to the forward gripper 1S0 or letting it swing through a larger arc. The stapling station 175 is thus caused to operate just prior to the beginning of the forward stroke and during the rearward stroke but prior to the effectiveness of the rear gripper 179. These intervals representV the respective dwell times occurring by virtue of the gripper lags.

Here again the sta-pier operation is cyclically repetitive but not uniformly so relative to the stroke-cycle as provision for spacing must occur between the doubly anchored loops.

This is seen in FIGS. 2a through 2m where the initial forward stroke is shown in FIGS. 2a and 2b and a reverse stroke in FIGS. 2c and 2d, with a stapling opera-tion 0c- -curring at the conclusion of this rearward stroke.

A succeeding forward stroke takes place in FIGS. 2e and 2f with the staple 183 (FIG. 2g) being inserted at the beginning of the next rearward stroke. FIGS. 2g and 2h reveal the structure during the rearward stroke when the hitch feeding arrangement 169 is rendered inoperative to space the loop under formation from loop 178.

In FIGS. 2z' and 2j, the next forward stroke is shown supplying sufficient ribbon for the succeeding loop. FIGS. 2k Iand 2l actually show the formation of loop 185 during the rearward stroke with stapling occurring during the close of this stroke, as shown in FIG. 2l. FIG. 2m shows the advancement of both loops 178 and 185 preparatory to the next loop formation.

Severing of a series `of these loops can be achieved in a manner heretofore explained at the cutting slot 187 as denoted in FIG. 2m.

FIG. 3, including FIGS. 3a through 3d, show the essentials to the formation of a pompon bow, as depicted at 201 in FIGS. 3c and 3d. In FIG. 3 the backing strip 202 is supplied through action of the reciprocating table 25 and hitch feed 207 as heretofore explained, whereastheV ribbon 203 is supplied directly to the notching station 209 which is shown effective to notch the ribbon at positions corresponding to the anchor points 211 (FIGS. 3a) for each loop to be formed. The ribbon 203 as shown in FIG. 3a is suitably notched, for example by a die resembling opposed truncated triangles such that the anchor area 211 represents the weakest point of ribbon to permit the loops to fall in haphazard arrangement. Y

This is better seen in FIG. 3b where a few loops are shown stapled to the backing strip 202. Since notching occurs independently of the back strip 202 and its path of travel, more latitude is available for the time of operation of the notching station 209. Obviously, it cannot be done when the ribbon 203 is being advanced to provide material for a loop but can be effective any time during the reverse stroke. Consequently, the station is cyclically operable 1n a sequential manner, once for each loop with one additional notch provided per bow. Y

The stapling station 213 (FIG. 3a) includes a wire brush or the like 215 which'reciprocates up and down with the stapling head to insure that the loops fall in random manner, thereby forming the bow pictured in FIG.

3c. As was explained in detail in connection with the previous embodiment, the apparatus in FIG. 3 also includes an exit platform 217 and a 4cutting slot 219 at which the bows may be cleaved singly or in bunches, as desired, for packing.

Conventional reciprocating air cylinder drives,rnotching devlces, stapling machines and cutters are -available for use in constructing a machine in accordance with the present invention. Suitable speeds for the reciprocating air cylmders have been found to be in the order of three to four strokes per second, each of an adjustable 4 to 5-inch length: A stitcher with a capacity of 200 or more stitches per minute is suicient to cooperate with such an air cylinder driving means to fabricate some S50-700 bows per hour, such bows having 12 or more loops each'. The speed of the notcher in the embodiments for fabricating the pompon bow and the like should, of course, be approxmately 1/2 that of the air cylinder and the cutters speed need be only sulicient to sever individual bows or pluralities of bows, as desired for packing. Commercial control means, such as timers or sequencers, are readily available which enable the cycles described, and which will even accommodate a range of 1 to 400 loops per bow. For eX- ample, mieroswitches (not shown) located at either limit of the reciprocating table stroke may serve as reversers. Such switches or solenoids may cycle the notcher and stapler under control of the timer.

Although the invention 'has ybeen described with respect to specific or preferred embodiments, it will be apparent that many other modications can be made without departing from the scope of the principles disclosed. Accordingly, it is desired that the invention be limited only by the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A loop-making machine comprising means for supplying ribbon and backing therefor; said backing being stiff relative -to said ribbon; drive means for establishing relative -reciprocal motion between the ribbon and the backing by enga-ging the backing; and means for initi-ally fastening Ithe ribbon to the b-acking and for fastening the ribbon to the backing at spaced-apart intervals along the ribbon and the backing at selected dwell times during the motion to form anchored loops.

2. The machine of claim 1 including means for rendering the drive means ineffectual in one direction during selected intervals.

3. A bow-manufacturing machine comprising platform means for defining a path of travel for bow-making material and a backing therefor; said backing being stiffer than the bow-making material; cyclically operable fastening means positioned at a station along the platform means initially to secure the material to the backing and to secure the material to the backing at spaced intervals; means for establishing relative displacement of the material to the backing by moving the backing to form loops and displacement of the loops relative to the fastening means to secure said loops in longitudinal array.

4. In a bow-manufacturing machine a reciprocating motion device including a pair of grippers for establishing relative movement between pliable and non-pliable strips attached at one point; means rendering one of the grippers effective for gripping the non-pliable strip only during the forward reciprocating motion; means rendering the other one of the grippers effective for gripping the non-pliable strip only during the reverse reciprocating motion, means for holding the non-pliable strip against movement du-ring the time the other one of the grippers is effective; and means for adjusting the effective gripping instant of at least one of the grippers in any given cycle to advance the strips.

5. A bow-manufacturing machine comprising a frame for defining a path of travel for backing and for bowmaking material; notching means for notching the material independently -of the backing and at spaced locations therealong; cyclically operable fastening means positioned at a sit-ation along the platform to secure the material to the backing; and cyclically operable drive means for establishing relative displacement of the material to the backing to form loops and of the loops to the fastening means to secure said loops in longitudinal array. g

6. The bow-manufacturing machine of claim 5, including means for rendering the drive means intermittently inoperable to provide bow-spacing.

7. The bow-manufacturing machine of claim 5, wherein the fastening means is effective to anchor the material to the backing at the notching locations.

S. The bow-manufacturing machine of claim 5, including means for severing bows individually or in groups.

9. The method of manufacturing bows compris-ing the steps of: securing a pliable strip of material to a nonpliable backing strip; folding the pliable strip into loops relative to the backing strip; fastening the pliable strip to the backing strip on each side of the loops; Iand notching the pliable strip of material to permit the loops to fall in random fashion.

10. The method of forming bunches of loops out of pliable material secured to a relatively non-pliable backing strip comprising the steps of: fastening the pliable materi-al to the backing strip; establishing a relative displacement between the pliable material and the backing strip to loop the former; securing the pliable material to the backing strip to .maintain the so-formed loop; and, repeating the previous two steps at spaced-apart positions along the backing strip.

11. The method of forming bunches of loops out of pliable material secured to a relatively non-pliable backing strip comprising the steps of: fastening the pliable material to the backing strip; establishing a relative displacement between the pli-able material and the backing strip to loop the former; securing the pliable material to the backing strip to maintain the so-formed loop; notching the pliable strip at spaced-apart positions therealong to permit the loops to fall in random fashion; and repeating the previous -two steps of establishing relative displacement and securing the pliable material to the backing strip at spaced apart positions along the backing strip.

12. A method of forming a plurality of loops of ribbon in spaced array along a stiff backing strip comprising the steps of: guiding the ribbon and backing strip therefor into a common pathway; initially securing the ribbon to the backing strip at a iirst location on the backing strip; establishing relative reciprocal motion between the ribbon and the backing strip by using the strip to cause the ribbon to form a loop; securing the ribbon to the backing strip 'at a second location therealong to maintain the loop; and repeating the reciprocal motion and subsequent securing steps to form further loops.

13. A method of making an ornamental bow from a ribbon and backing strip therefor which has sufficient stiffness to cause the ribbon to loop relative thereto comprising the steps of; securing the ribbon to the backing strip initially; notch-ing the ribbon at spaced apart positions along its len-gth; looping the ribbon relative to the backing strip through movement of the strip; and securing the ribbon to the backing strip at each notched interval on the ribbon while iluing the loops relative to the strip.

14. A loop-making and fastening machine comprising means for supplying ribbon and backing therefor which is stili compared to the ribbon; means for initially fastening the ribbon to the back-ing and for fastening the ribbon to the backing at spaced-apart intervals along the backing; and means for establishing relative movement between the ribbon and backing by driving the backing between the fastenings to form loops of ribbon between adjacent fastening points.

15. The machine of claim 14 including means for spacing the loops along the backing in proximity to form a bow.

16. The machine of claim 14 including means for spacing the loops in bunchs along the backing.

17. The machine of claim 14 including means for notching the ribbon at spaced-apart intervals.

18. The machine of claim 14 including means for severing the ribbon and backing between a plurality of loops of ribbon. v

19. A loop-making and fastening machine of a type employing relatively stiff backing material for looping the ribbon, comprising means for supplying the ribbon and the backing material therefor; fastening means for securing the ribbon to the backing; mean-s forming spaced loops of ribbon relative to the backing material by movement of the backing material relative to the ribbon; and means actuating the fastening means for securing the is formed.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS Holfnzmann 112-130 Baldridge y2-20 X Seymour 112-203 Schneider et ai. 112-427 X Kierner 112-132 Teemsma 223-46 Griffin 2-20 Duncan 223-46 12 Sperry 223-46 Darata 223-46 Seaman 112-132 Kravig et a1. 2213-46 Anderson 223-46 Abbenaute 112-20-3 Schaefer 223-30 X George et al. 112-130 10 PATRICK D. LAWSON, Primary Examiner.

G. V. LARKIN, Assistant Examiners. 

1. A LOOP-MAKING MACHINE COMPRISING MEANS FOR SUPPLYING RIBBON AND BACKING THEREFOR; SAID BACKING BEING STIFF RELATIVE TO SAID RIBBON; DRIVE MEANS FOR ESTABLISHING RELATIVE RECIPROCAL MOTION BETWEEN THE RIBBON AND THE BACKING BY ENGAGING THE BACKING; AND MEANS FOR INITIALLY FASTENING THE RIBBON TO THE BACKING AND FOR FASTENING THE RIBBON TO THE BACKING AT SPACED-APART INTERVALS ALONG THE RIBBON AND THE BACKING AT SELECTED DWELL TIMES DURING THE MOTION TO FORM ANCHORED LOOPS. 